North Dakota

Kansas State football had no business beating North Dakota. What’s wrong with the team?

Published

8 months ago

August 31, 2025

Kansas State football had no business beating North Dakota. What’s wrong with the team?

Boos rained down on Kansas State football as it ran into the locker room for halftime. Losing to their FCS opponent at the break, the Wildcats needed to wake up.

They did, and then they didn’t. A 10-point fourth-quarter lead disappeared before trailing by four in the final minutes. Unlike against Iowa State the week before, the Wildcats got a needed stop before Avery Johnson led them down the field for the go-ahead touchdown with 42 seconds left, avoiding disaster and beating North Dakota, 38-35.

Kansas State had no business winning the game, and something looks a little off in Manhattan.

Whether it was a hangover after an unorthodox beginning to the season in Ireland or the Wildcats overlooking a smaller opponent, they don’t look like the team that was picked to challenge for the Big 12 title, let alone a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Here are a few things we noticed after rewatching the game.

Buy Kansas State vs Army tickets

Chris Klieman was right to call out Kansas State’s defensive discipline

Klieman used two “awfuls” to describe the eye discipline of the defense. It was a problem for most of the night, which is surprising considering the level of play the Wildcats typically receive from what’s supposed to be one of the better linebacker groups in the Big 12.

North Dakota used plenty of motion to confuse the defense’s eyes, and it worked, especially in the first half and the fourth quarter. For whatever reason, the Fighting Hawks went away from it a little bit in the third quarter, leading to negative-10 yards of offense in the frame.

Other lapses in discipline also made appearances, particularly when the Wildcats ran into the kicker in the second quarter, resulting in a first down for UND. On the same drive, UND faced a second-and-21 when Justice Clemons got flagged for a face mask, extending the drive further, which ultimately resulted in a touchdown.

Kansas State gave up too many chunk plays in and-long situations

UND was second-for-6 when facing a third down with nine yards or more to go. That included a 23-yard pass on a third-and-22 and a 13-yard rush on third-and-10 on the same drive to end the first half. The drive resulted in a touchdown.

Other and-long situations popped up after the Wildcats had success in earlier downs. When UND converted, those extended drives resulted in touchdowns.

Second-and-13 in the 2nd quarter — 25-yard rush (drive resulted in touchdown)
Fourth-and-6 in the 4th quarter — Eight-yard pass (drive resulted in touchdown)
Third-and-8 in the 4th quarter — 10-yard pass (drive resulted in touchdown)

Avery Johnson was lucky to finish game without interception

Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good. Avery Johnson’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Jaron Tibbs appeared to be intercepted in the endzone before it somehow landed in his receiver’s hands. There were a few plays where a Johnson pass sailed or was put in danger, making you wonder how he left the game without throwing a pick.

Johnson tends to receive a lot more criticism than he deserves. Without his late-game heroics, this would be an entirely different conversation. However, there were a few close calls that will require some cleanup.

Kansas State offensive line, rushing concerns remain

Against an FCS opponent, this was when you would’ve wanted to see the offensive line assert itself. After last week’s loss to Iowa State, when the Wildcats struggled to run the ball, this was supposed to be somewhat of a tune-up game.

Instead, a consistent ground game was still lacking. Of K-State’s 143 rushing yards, 91 of them came on nine carries it had of 10 yards or more. That means the Wildcats averaged 2.6 yards on their 20 other carries.

There’s no question that the Wildcats miss Dylan Edwards, who was out with an ankle injury and may miss this week’s game against Army. The Wildcats still need to figure this out with the running backs they have.

Kansas State could have put the game away late in the third quarter, but got in its own way

Up 10 with the ball and 1:33 left in the third quarter, the Wildcats had a chance to put a nail in the coffin.

Johnson had a throw on the run to a wide-open Garrett Oakley that was dropped at the UND 16. In the following play, Johnson attempted to pull the ball on a fake to Joe Jackson, but it was fumbled, kicked backward, and turned into a 17-yard loss to end the quarter. Those two plays turned into a 37-yard difference in field position and at least three points coming off the board.

UND responded with a 71-yard touchdown drive, bringing the game within three with just over 10 minutes left, beginning the scare.

Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@gannett.com

Source link

Click to comment

North Dakota

Stampede stay alive with 2-1 OT win in Fargo

Published

10 hours ago

May 10, 2026

Press Room

Stampede stay alive with 2-1 OT win in Fargo

FARGO, N.D. (KELO) — The Sioux Falls Stampede staved off elimination with a 2-1 overtime win over the Fargo Force in game four of the USHL Western Conference Finals Saturday night.

Thomas Zocco scored the game-winner 12 minutes into the extra period. Arseni Marchenko put Fargo on the board first in the first period. Noah Mannausau tied the game for the Herd in the second period.

Sioux Falls outshot Fargo 53-49, including 9-5 in overtime. Linards Feldbergs made 48 saves.

Three of the four games of the series have gone to overtime. The winner-take-all game five is Tuesday at the Premier Center.

Source link

North Dakota

New ballot measure guide to be mailed to North Dakota voters ahead of election

Published

22 hours ago

May 10, 2026

Press Room

New ballot measure guide to be mailed to North Dakota voters ahead of election

Kxnet.com

Welcome to the KXMB/KXMC YouTube channel, your home for all news, sports, and weather in western North Dakota. Subscribe to our channel for the latest information, breaking news, and weather updates.

Submit your photos, videos, and news tips to https://www.kxnet.com/report-it/. You can also message us on Facebook.

Visit KX News: https://www.kxnet.com/
Stream our shows here: https://www.kxnet.com/live-streaming/
Download our mobile app: https://www.kxnet.com/apps/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KXNewsND?sub_confirmation
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kxnews
X: https://twitter.com/kxmb
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kx_news/

Get our new KXNews+ app on Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV. Learn more here: https://www.kxnet.com/kx-news-plus/

Source link

North Dakota

Federal judge agrees to toss $28M judgment related to Dakota Access Pipeline protests

Published

1 day ago

May 9, 2026

Press Room

Federal judge agrees to toss M judgment related to Dakota Access Pipeline protests

BISMARCK (North Dakota Monitor) — A federal district court judge indicated he will nullify a nearly $28 million judgment against the federal government related to costs North Dakota incurred during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests so the parties can reach a settlement.

North Dakota is still set to receive a payment Attorney General Drew Wrigley described as satisfactory, but attorneys would not disclose the amount during a Friday hearing.

Attorneys for the United States and North Dakota said the settlement would allow the parties to avoid litigating the case in appeals court,putting the nearly seven-year-old lawsuit to rest.

“We’re hoping we really don’t need to fight any further,” Department of Justice attorney Jonathan Guynn said during the hearing.

The lawsuit, filed in 2019, concerns demonstrations against the construction of the crude oil pipeline, also known as DAPL, that took place in rural south-central North Dakota in 2016 and 2017.

North Dakota claims the federal government caused the protests to grow in size and intensity by unlawfully allowing demonstrators to camp on federal land. The state says it had to pay millions of dollars on policing and cleaning up the encampments as a result. The United States denies the state’s allegations.

North Dakota U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor in April 2025 sided with the state and ordered the executive branch to pay North Dakota the $28 million sum, a decision the U.S. Department of Justice later appealed to the 8th Circuit.

If the settlement moves forward, North Dakota would receive a “substantial monetary payment” from the United States, attorneys said Friday. As a condition of the agreement, the Department of Justice wants Traynor’s judgment and three other orders in which he ruled against the United States to be voided. That includes the court’s 120-page ruling from April 2025.

Both parties said Friday that having the rulings nullified wouldn’t have a significant negative impact on the public, since the documents could still be cited even if they no longer hold the weight of court orders.

At the same time, Guynn said the Department of Justice wants the orders vacated because it doesn’t want the legal conclusions Traynor made to influence the outcome of future lawsuits.

“The downstream consequences of keeping these on the books is troublesome for the United States,” he said during the hearing. If Traynor does not agree to axe the rulings, the United States would likely no longer be willing to settle and move forward with its appeal instead, Guynn added.

Traynor’s orders make findings about the federal government’s responsibility under the Federal Tort Claims Act — the law North Dakota filed the suit under — which the state noted previously in court filings “could have utility holding the federal government to account” in the future.

Still, attorneys for the state said they believe this trade-off is outweighed by the time and money the public would save by not going through the appeals process. North Dakota would also avoid the risk of having Traynor’s judgment overturned by higher courts.

Wrigley said the settlement will be made public once it’s finalized.

The United States’ appeal of Traynor’s decision has been on hold since last summer, when the state and federal government informed the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals they had started settlement negotiations and wished to pause the case.

The 8th Circuit will have to first send the case back to Traynor before he could grant the parties’ requests.

The case went to trial in Bismarck in early 2024. During the four-week trial, the court heard from witnesses including former governors Doug Burgum and Jack Dalrymple, Native activists, federal officials and law enforcement.

The Dakota Access Pipeline carries crude oil from northwest North Dakota to Illinois. It crosses the Missouri River just north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, which prompted the tribe to begin protesting the pipeline on the grounds that it poses a threat to its water supply and sovereignty.

North Dakota’s lawsuit originally requested $38 million in damages from the federal government. Traynor ordered the executive branch to pay $28 million since the U.S. Department of Justice previously gave the state $10 million as compensation for costs it spent related to the protests.

Source link